Genesis 31
I Will Be with Thee
At the end of twenty years in Haran the Lord tells Jacob to go home. Jacob leaves without telling Laban, Rachel takes her father’s household gods, and Laban overtakes them in Gilead. God has warned Laban in a dream, and the two men part with a heap of stones between them.
Start reading Background
Jacob came to Padan-aram as a fugitive from Esau, with the Lord’s promise at Beth-el that He would “bring thee again into this land” (Gen. 28:15). By the end of this chapter he has been there twenty years: “I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle” (Gen. 31:41; compare Gen. 29:18–28; Gen. 30:25–43). He has become rich, Laban’s sons resent it, and Laban himself has turned cold.
The chapter is Jacob’s departure from Laban, in five parts: God’s command to go home (verses 1–3), Jacob’s talk with Rachel and Leah (4–16), the secret flight and Rachel’s theft (17–21), Laban’s pursuit and the quarrel in Gilead (22–42), and the covenant that ends it (43–55). It sits between the years of service in chapters 29–30 and Jacob’s meeting with Esau in chapters 32–33, and Rachel’s theft of her father’s household gods is settled only when Jacob clears out the “strange gods” near Shechem (Gen. 35:2–4).
Hosea sums up these years in one verse: “Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep” (Hosea 12:12).
The thread through the chapter
Genesis 31 is a quarrel over who gave Jacob what he has, and the chapter’s answer is God. Laban’s sons say Jacob “hath taken away all that was our father’s” (verse 1). Jacob says “God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me” (verse 9), and Rachel and Leah say the same of “all the riches which God hath taken from our father” (verse 16). Laban ends the argument with “all that thou seest is mine” (verse 43) and has nothing left to offer but a covenant. Underneath is the promise of Beth-el, “I am with thee” (Gen. 28:15), which God repeats in verse 3 and Jacob cites in verse 42: “Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty.” Laban admits that only a dream held his hand (verse 29).
A second thread is one Hebrew verb, ganav, “steal,” which occurs eight times in the chapter. Rachel steals her father’s household gods (verse 19). Jacob “steals the heart” of Laban by leaving without a word (verses 20, 26, 27). Laban charges Jacob with stealing his gods (30). Jacob, not knowing who the thief is, says that whoever has them shall not live (32). And Jacob says Laban made him pay for what was “stolen by day, or stolen by night” (39, twice). Jacob himself had started the word, saying that any animal not speckled “shall be counted stolen with me” (Gen. 30:33).
Tap any highlighted phrase to open a note beneath its versein the margin.
The command to go home
Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father, and he has gotten all his wealth from it.” Jacob also saw that Laban no longer looked at him as he used to. Then the Lord said to him, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”
1 And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory.
2 And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.
3 And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.
Jacob and his wives
Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to meet him in the field where his flock was. He told them, “I can see that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, but the God of my father has been with me. You know I have served your father with all my strength. Your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not let him harm me. When he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ all the flock bore speckled young; when he said, ‘The striped ones,’ all bore striped young. So God has taken your father’s livestock and given it to me.”
Jacob told them of a dream in the breeding season, in which he saw the rams that mated with the flock were striped, speckled, and spotted. The angel of God said to him in the dream, “Jacob,” and he answered, “Here I am.” The angel said, “Look: all the rams mating with the flock are striped, speckled, and spotted, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Beth-el, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now get up, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.”
Rachel and Leah answered, “Do we still have any share in our father’s house? He treats us like foreigners: he sold us and has used up the money paid for us. All the wealth God took from our father belongs to us and our children. Do whatever God has told you.”
4 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,
5 And said unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me.
6 And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.
7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
8 If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.
9 Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
10 And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.
11 And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
13 I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.
14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house?
15 Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.
16 For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children’s: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.
The flight
Jacob put his children and wives on camels and drove off all his livestock and everything he had gained in Padan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in Canaan. Laban was away shearing his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s household gods. Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was leaving. He fled with everything he had, crossed the river, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.
17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;
18 And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan-aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
19 And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.
20 And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled.
21 So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead.
Laban pursues, and God warns him
On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. He took his relatives, chased Jacob for seven days, and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. But God came to Laban in a dream that night and said, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
22 And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.
23 And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.
24 And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
The search and the quarrel
Jacob had pitched his tent in the hills, and Laban and his relatives camped in the hills of Gilead. Laban said, “What have you done? You deceived me and carried off my daughters like prisoners of war. Why did you slip away secretly instead of telling me, so I could send you off with a feast, with songs and tambourines and harps? You did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. That was foolish. I have the power to harm you, but last night the God of your father told me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ You wanted to go home, but why did you steal my gods?”
Jacob answered, “I was afraid you would take your daughters from me by force. But whoever you find has your gods will not live. Point out in front of our relatives anything that is yours, and take it.” Jacob did not know Rachel had stolen them. Laban searched Jacob’s tent, Leah’s, and the tents of the two maidservants and found nothing; then he went into Rachel’s tent. She had put the household gods in the camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched the whole tent and found nothing. She said, “Do not be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up before you; I am having my monthly period.” He searched, but did not find them.
Jacob lost his temper. “What is my crime?” he said. “What is my sin, that you have chased me so hard? You have searched all my belongings; what have you found of yours? Put it here before our relatives and let them decide between us. Twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and goats never miscarried, and I never ate the rams of your flock. I never brought you an animal torn by wild beasts; I took the loss myself, and you demanded payment for anything stolen, by day or by night. The heat consumed me by day and the cold by night, and sleep fled from my eyes. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my hardship and the work of my hands, and last night He rebuked you.”
25 Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.
26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword?
27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?
28 And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing.
29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
30 And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
31 And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.
32 With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
33 And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the two maidservants’ tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah’s tent, and entered into Rachel’s tent.
34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.
35 And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images.
36 And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?
37 Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both.
38 This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.
39 That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.
40 Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
41 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.
42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
The covenant at Gilead
Laban answered, “These women are my daughters, these children are my children, these flocks are my flocks. Everything you see is mine. But what can I do today about my daughters or the children they have borne? Come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between us.”
Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. He told his relatives to gather stones, and they made a heap and ate there on the heap. Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed. Laban said, “This heap is a witness between us today.” It was also called Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight. If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives besides my daughters, though no one else is with us, remember that God is witness between us.” He added, “Here is the heap and here is the pillar I have set up between us. This heap is a witness and this pillar is a witness that I will not cross it to harm you and you will not cross it to harm me. May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. He offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to a meal, and they spent the night there. Early in the morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters, blessed them, and went home.
43 And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?
44 Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.
46 And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.
47 And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.
48 And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;
49 And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.
51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee;
52 This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.
53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.
54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.
55 And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.
Seeing Christ in Genesis 31
The Lord who speaks in this chapter is Jehovah, and “Jehovah is the premortal Jesus Christ.” Verse 3 opens, “the LORD said unto Jacob.” The Lord who stood above the ladder at Beth-el and promised, “I am with thee” (Gen. 28:13–15), speaks again through “the angel of God” in verse 13: “I am the God of Beth-el.” By those words the angel “is shewn to be not a created angel, but Jehovah Himself in a manifested form.” In this chapter He keeps His word: He calls Jacob home (verse 3), shows him what Laban was doing (verse 12), and in a dream stops Laban from harming him (verse 24). Jacob’s own summary is that God “hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands” (verse 42).
Worth exploring next
- The vow at Beth-el. Read Gen. 28:10–22 beside verse 13, and Gen. 35:1–7, where Jacob pays it.
- How the twenty years were earned. Gen. 29:15–30 (the two wives) and Gen. 30:25–43 (the flocks and the rods), which this chapter retells from Jacob’s side.
- What comes next. The angels of God meet Jacob at once (Gen. 32:1–2), and the brother he fled waits ahead (Gen. 33:1–11).
- Rachel, Leah, and the teraphim. The BYU chapter “The Matriarchs” (Religious Studies Center, in From Creation to Sinai) follows Rachel and Leah through this chapter.
- Jacob and Laban. The chapter “Isaac and Jacob” in the same volume reads Jacob’s years with Laban as the endurance of a righteous man.
Sources & further reading
- The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Westminster Leningrad Codex, with morphology, Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (OSHB), openscriptures/morphhb.
- Westminster Leningrad Codex (the Masoretic Hebrew text), Read in the Hebrew–English interlinear on Bible Hub.
- Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.
- The Septuagint (Rahlfs Greek text, with Brenton’s English translation), Elpenor Bilingual Septuagint.
- “Pentateuch”, Bible Dictionary.
- “Jehovah”, Bible Dictionary.
- “Laban”, Bible Dictionary.
- “Teraphim”, Bible Dictionary.
- “Mizpah or Mizpeh”, Bible Dictionary.
- Genesis 24–33, Scripture Helps: Old Testament (2025).
- Genesis 24–36: The Covenant Line Continues with Isaac and Jacob, Old Testament Student Manual: Genesis–2 Samuel (Church Educational System, 2003).
- Camille Fronk Olson, “The Matriarchs: Administrators of God’s Covenantal Blessings”, In From Creation to Sinai: The Old Testament through the Lens of the Restoration, ed. Daniel L. Belnap and Aaron P. Schade (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021), 385–425.
- Aaron P. Schade, “Isaac and Jacob: Succession Narratives, Birthrights, and Blessings”, In From Creation to Sinai: The Old Testament through the Lens of the Restoration, ed. Daniel L. Belnap and Aaron P. Schade (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book), 335–84.
- Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Genesis, In Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, online at Bible Hub.
- Herbert E. Ryle, The Book of Genesis in the Revised Version, Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge: University Press, 1921); read on Bible Hub.
- Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers: Genesis, Read on Bible Hub.
- Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Trans. William Whiston; online at penelope.uchicago.edu.